Salem football improves to 5-0 with 40-13 rout of Pennsville

  • 10/10 - 12:00 PM FootballFinal
    Pennsville 13
    Salem 40
Complete Box Score »

SALEM - One by one, the other contenders in South Jersey Group 1 have lined up to take their shot at Salem.

And one by one, the Rams have turned them aside.

Salem has faced an undefeated Group 1 team every week - Glassboro in Week 2, Gloucester in Week 3, Penns Grove in Week 4 and Pennsville on Saturday.

The Rams rode another strong performance by running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Shareef Jefferies to a dominating performance in a 40-13 rout of their Salem County and West Jersey Football League Classic Division rivals. Taylor ran 19 times for 160 yards and a touchdown, while Jefferies carried 15 times for 104 yards and two scores.

“We’re a great 1-2 punch,” said Jefferies.

Wuanyay Green scored on three short TD runs as Salem improved to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the Classic. Pennsville is 4-1, 2-1.

JUNIOR MINT: RB Taylor leads way

The Rams won’t have a chance to see Paulsboro – which beat the Rams, 21-0, in last year’s South Jersey final – until the playoffs. But they’ve shown they can beat everybody else in the field.

“My team is pretty good and they have a championship attitude,” said Salem coach Montrey Wright. “The hunger is always there. Group 1 is very competitive this year, and what these guys are doing is pretty impressive.”

The Eagles jumped out to a quick start Saturday, running for 23 yards on five carries before Matt Widmaier found Josh VanBlarcom behind the Rams’ defense for a 42-yard score and 7-0 lead two minutes into the game.

But Salem came right back with a 13-play, 74-yard drive capped by Green’s 1-yard run. After a delay of game, Taylor bulled his away off tackle, carrying defenders into the end zone for a two-point conversion and 8-7 lead.

A 40-yard Jamael Bundy punt return set up Green’s second 1-yard TD run early in the second quarter. Jefferies then scored on a 30-yard run after Teron Nance returned an interception into Eagle territory.

The Salem quarterback ran in from nine yards out following Ramon Bentley’s pick to go into the half leading 26-7.

Taylor broke a 46-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter to make it 34-7 and put the game away and another interception - this one by Green – set up his own 2-yard run to close the scoring.

"We came out here and said we're both undefeated and somebody has to lose and it's not going to be us," said Taylor.

The Rams intercepted Pennsville quarterbacks four times and forced five turnovers, responding to the frustration of giving up an early score.

“We had a missed assignment on the opening drive, but we just had to make sure it didn’t happen again,” said Wright. “The guys responded well, They knew where they had to go and how much depth to get on their drops. They had to re-focus on the game-plan.”

After the opening drive, the Eagles scored just once more. A halfback pass went for 45 yards and Nick Bard scored on a 2-yard run late in the third quarter to close within three scores.

“Take your pick. ... Turnovers, issues with snaps, drops,” said Pennsville coach Ryan Wood. “We struggled all the way around today. Salem absolutely played a great game and they were the better team.

“Unfortunately kind of the way the game went, we had to get out of the game plan we came in with. We got back to doing some things we didn’t necessarily want to do, but sometimes the score dictates what you need to do.”

Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find the NJ.com High School Football page on Facebook by following this link.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.